Think again.
Consider, from Rivka Galchen’s rundown in Harper’s of twentieth century author family life and age demographics, among them:
Alice Munro: Two husbands. Raised three children. First book of stories at age thirty-seven.
Toni Morrison: Two children. First novel at age thirty-nine.
Penelope Fitzgerald: Three children. First novel at age sixty. Then eight more.
Rock on, Penelope Fitzgerald*.
Read these author’s books, take a walk, and write your own. Bloom late.
write hard
*Author Allison Lynn recently recommended Fitzgerald’s “Offshore,” which went on to win the Booker Prize.
Another to Read: Penelope Fitzgerald biography, “A Life,” by Hermione Lee
And subscribe to Harper’s already.
Beth Bates 